Ki Savo

Yesterday, I took a trip to Yerushaliyim. There are a few issues my wife and I needed to clarify in life, so we decided that it would be best to see two rabbeim. One rav happens to be the rav I usually go to, and one is somebody whom I respect greatly, and I wanted to hear his opinion. Plus, the trip would give me the opportunity to catch up on some sleep and for my wife to have me buy some things that we can’t get here. A win-win situation.

After the meeting with the first rav, I received a call from my rav apologizing that he will not be able to meet me. Something came up and he had to leave shortly. Fine. I call my wife and tell her about the change of plans and that I’ll simply head over to the bus station and catch the next bus home. Instead, she suggests that I take the time to visit my old yeshiva and see the rabbeim there. After arriving, I spot the Mosghiach (the spiritual advisor) of the yeshiva, who has also been serving as the unofficial head of the yeshiva, since the Rosh Yeshiva passed away several years ago. He sees me and comes to greet me, and I grab him and tell him (not really asked) that I wished to speak to him. Anybody from the yeshiva knows that it’s hard to actually get him to sit and talk with you. His opinion is sought by many, not only from in the yeshiva, but from around the world, and he has a lot on his plate. But, “somehow”, I got around an hour and a half with him. A small miracle, to say the least. We discussed the issues going on, and I got his suggestions and trademarked stories. But there was one interesting insight he gave me that I wanted to share. It has nothing to do with this week’s parsha, but it really stuck with me.

He asked, what was the big deal about Rebbe Akiva? We say that he did tshuvah at the age of 40, and started to learn Torah with young children, and then became one of the pillars of the Jewish nation. Is that really it? He sat down with a bunch of nine-year-olds and started from there? No, that couldn’t be THE greatness of Rebbe Akiva. That, at the age of forty, he turned around his life? No . . . others have done that as well.

He continued and explained that he has seen that when people (and he was citing specific people who have graduated from top-notch universities and are very well off at a very young age), who become frum at 26, 27, or 28, and sit down and begin to learn, they are lacking a certain fire in their learning. Do they have a will? Absolutely. In fact, these particular people would return to the States, become strong in their beliefs, raise good families, and learn every day. However, they would still never have this “fire” within them in their learning. An 18-year-old yeshiva boy with half of this guy’s IQ could run circles around him in Gemara. Why is this? Because, even at the age of 27, he’s already an "old man." He physically does not have the same powers as the 18-year-old. He continued with some proofs and concluded that the greatness of Rebbe Akiva lies in the fact that at the age of 40, he was able to learn with the fire of an 18-year-old. THAT is a huge challenge which he was able to overcome. He didn’t know it, but he gave me a little encouragement with that, since I started learning at 27 and haven’t accomplished half of what I wanted to.

Of course, with this, one can become depressed if he thinks, how can I accomplish if I don’t have any fire? But, I listened to a talk this morning that he gave a few years ago. In it, he told over a story of a boy in yeshiva who gave into depression for not accomplishing what he wanted to accomplish, and not having the "head" for learning that he was hoping to have, and not being on the spiritual level that he was hoping to be on. In the end, he was literally about to kill himself. A certain person (it became clear, it was the Moshgiach himself) was able to keep this boy from jumping out the window, and took him to see the Steipler Gaon in Bnei Brak. The Steipler told this boy, and the Moshgiach was witness to this, that he was willing to take a vow (something not to be taken lightly) that when he (the boy) sits down and learns, with all his troubles and all his lack of "fire," Hashem has more simcha than He has when the he (the Steipler) sits and learns. All the books that the Steipler wrote get pushed to the side, and all of His attention and love is directed to this boy. Because, despite everything that is going against him, he is making a greater Kiddush Hashem. This is how the learning of a simple person compares to the learning of one of the generations of leading sages. Amazing, no?

So, we see two things from here. We see the greatness of Rebbe Akiva in a light that we never saw before. But, we also see the greatness in each one of us that we might have never seen before.

We’re finally going fully legal on all our income. Joy. (I now have to pay 15% of my income to U.S. Social Security, thankfully child credit helps a bit, and around 15% to the Israeli National Insurance, plus all fees that come with it.)
That being, I needed to find and hire a U.S. accountant and an Israeli accountant, and after speaking to many, I finally settled on two of them.
It’s interesting to see how both accountants work, which clearly reflects how each society views their governments. Every U.S. accountant I spoke with was very straight and not playing around with things. If it wasn’t 100% legal, it cannot be done. When I went to the office of the Israeli accountant, the first thing she said was, “Okay, let’s start off with how much you are REALLY making and work from there.” She then made up a plan, which I can’t go into detail. Technically, it’s legal. Why? Because the government cannot prove otherwise. She figured that it’s best to do that and report everything, so it’s officially legal, compared to simply not reporting everything to the government (which she considers a valid option, but prefers not to take). Basically, the Israeli mentality is, if the government cannot prove that I’m really lying, than it’s legal.
Before I get hit with emails about the halachic aspects of not telling the Israeli government my full income, that has been handled by halachic authorities hundreds of years ago. Basically, the halachic basis that a non-Torah observant government in Eretz Yisroel has a right to tax is not so certain, and many halachic authorities agree that one can HIDE his money, but cannot STEAL money from such a government. It's a whole big discussion for another time.
Basically, everybody follows this mentality here. When you set a price in a cab, you’re doing so off the books. In many places, when you pay for something big in cash, they give you a 9% discount, so you keep your half of the 17% tax and they keep their half. It’s just interesting to hear it from an accountant.
Okay, on to more important things.“Cursed be the one who causes a blind person to stray along the way” (Dvarim 27:18).
Rashi explains that this is not only to be taken literally, but also teaches us the importance of not giving bad advice.
Once, after Rav Shach visited a certain family in Bnei Brak, he made his way slowly down the stairs of the building. As he was descending, a young man approached and asked the rav a question concerning advice he needed. Seeing that Rav Shach was having a difficult time descending the stairs given his age and health, the young man offered his arm for the rav to hold on to. However, Rav Shach refused to take it and explained, “You have come to ask my advice. If you assist me, I will become biased. I do not wish to be biased when giving advice.”
We see how careful, one must be in this area.
I know somebody who pushes Americans to make Aliyah, no matter what! He tells them everything they want to hear and pulls on their emotional strings to get them to move. Unfortunately, the statistics of what happens with children who make Aliyah are not the best and are a well-known fact for those currently living here. His advice leads to long-term misery for many children of new immigrants. So while he’s performing the "mitzvah" of encouraging Jews to move to Israel, he’s tripping on the sin of “causing a blind person to stray . . .”
Whenever we give advice, we need to take into account our personal biases. If we cannot give clean advice, we shouldn’t give any at all.
Have a great Shabbos!
Michael Winner
P.S. Thank you Mr. G. Murray for the email. It didn’t have a return address, so I couldn’t reply.

Many people in the community have been waiting a while for this upcoming week.

Following the unofficial custom of Eretz Yisroel (and the official custom of Chassidim and others throughout the world), we don’t give our boys any haircuts until their third birthday (long story why), when they begin to wear a kippah and tzitzis.My first son had long hair which made him look like a surfer from California. My second, who’s about to turn three on Tuesday, has a huge “afro” of curls. He picked up the nickname “Taltalim” (curls, in Hebrew). We’re convinced that it’s keeping all the heat in his brain and therefore making him act like his other nickname, “Kedaffi HaKatan.” So, we’ll see Tuesday if it makes a difference.

Being that his hair naturally curls, everybody (including people outside of the family) wants us to cut his hair in a way the leave “zingelach” (the payos that can be found on Chassidim). Of course, that would be a super-duper way of being completely weird. The father has no payos, the first son has regular “European” (for the lack of a better description) payos, and the second son, looks Chassidish.

We’ll probably take that route for entertainment's sake and trim them back to normal after a while.

Okay, on to Torah!“The beinonim (people who are not righteous, yet not wicked) are suspended from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. If they attain merit, they are written for life. If they don’t attain merit, they are written for death.” (Rosh Hashanah 16b)

Rav Yitzchak Blazer asks a question on this Gemara. If this beinoni has a “zero balance,” he doesn’t have “debt” nor does he have “credit,” why doesn’t he simply do one mitzvah, any mitzvah, to tip the scales in his favor? Why do tshuvah when you can simply tip the scales in your favour with mitzvos?

He answers that if a person fails to do tshuvah on days that are specifically made for tshuvah, that sin will outweigh all the other mitzvos he might do. He brought a proof from the story of Rav (Yoma 87a) who went to present himself before a butcher who had insulted him. He was hoping that by “casually walking by” the butcher, the butcher would take the opportunity to ask for Rav’s forgiveness. When Rav Huna heard about it, he remarked, “Rav is on his way to kill someone.” This is because if the butcher will fail to take the opportunity for him to do tshuvah, his sin would become so much greater; he would have to die. In the end, that is exactly what happened.

Starting right after Shabbos, we begin to say slichos until Yom Kippur. It is a special time set up especially for tshuvah. It is a time where we beg Hashem to help us do tshuvah and to judge us favorably.

Rav Shimshon Pincus sums it up with, “Since these days are especially favorable for mercy and forgiveness, if a person doesn’t take proper advantage of them, and rather wishes that the “days of awe” would just be over already and the happy days of Sukkos should take their place, it is an affront to Heaven. This is a very insulting attitude to take, when Hashem graciously seeks to reconcile with us and wipe away our sins. On these days of siyata di’Shemaya (Help from Heaven), at the time when the gates of Heaven are open, we should be sure to make the use of the opportunity granted us. How fortunate are these days of Hashem’s closeness to us. We need to take advantage of them!”

Chaim started first grade this year. That being, he no longer goes to pre-school or kindergarten, but he is now in cheder (religious boys’ school). This moment has always scared me, since the religious education system is on a higher “academic” level, than those in America. And, since I never received any “academic” education in America, I expect to be overtaken by him, in another four years or so 

Thankfully, he seems to have an excellent Rebbe (chassidish… always the best for teaching positions), and a good group of boys in his class. He’s already started to learn Chumash, and is proud that he can (sort of) read Rashi. I hope this will be the beginning of a long and productive “learning career.”

Okay, on to Torah.Many people mistakenly think that on Rosh Hashanah we a judged for the previous year and how we lived it. Based on that judgment, we are rewarded with a year of good life in the upcoming year if we deserve it, and if not, we go to the grave.

We know that many good people die every year and many evil people are successful in their endeavors. So, either there is something very corrupt with the system, or we simply don’t understand the judgment of Rosh Hashanah.

“Since you did not serve Hashem your G-d in joy and gladness of heart, in abundance of everything” (Devarim 28:47)

The Rambam explains on this pasuk, “This means to say that if you served Hashem in joy . . . He bestows upon you these blessings . . . to the point that you will be free to grow wise in Torah and involve yourselves in it, so that you will merit the life of the World to Come . . . But if you left Hashem . . . He brings upon you all these curses . . . and your mind will not be free, nor your body sound, to do the mitzvos, so that you will lose the life of the World to Come. Consequently, you will have lost two worlds” (Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 9:1)

We don’t ask for a good year for the sake of having a good year. We ask for a good year, so we will be free from negative things to serve Hashem properly. When we use the year to serve Hashem in joy, He, in turn, will grant you a year of blessing, so you can continue to grow. If you do not, Hashem will put things in your way that will make it more challenging to follow the Torah with joy. You will still be able to if you WANT to, however, it will be more difficult.

When we say, for example, in the Rosh Hashanah davening, “Who will be poor and who will be rich,” we are saying, “Who will have a harder time giving tzedakah and giving loans, and who will have an easier time giving tzedakah and loans."

On Rosh Hashanah, Hashem sees how we’ve used the past year to further ourselves in our growth. If He sees positive improvement, then He will continue to give us tools to grow. If not, He will simply not give us the tools. If we showed Him in the previous year that we were not interested in His help, then He won’t help in the upcoming year.

Says Rav Pincus, when we use the terms “Tzaddik” and “Rasha” (evil person) on Rosh Hashanah, we are not describing people who are trying to be good or trying to be evil. Rather, a tzaddik, somebody who was granted life, is a person who uses all of his energies to use the tools that Hashem has given him. A rasha, on the other hand, is somebody who was written in the “Book of Death” simply because he refused to take advantage of Hashem’s help, and he refuses to aspire to any greatness in this world or the next.

May we all merit to use the next two weeks wisely, to show that we DO wish to continue to receive help from Above.

Twice a week, a good friend of mine drives to Petach Tikvah to participate in a class in appliance repair. He learns in the mornings in the kollel, works in the afternoons, and takes courses at night.

Two weeks ago, he started a new class and made friends with a rather interesting person. This person grew up religious. At 16, he left Judaism and … well… became an animal. He “has children on every continent”, more piercings than one can count, wears tons of jewelry, has a nice long criminal record, usually involving illegal firearms, and basically is a person you don’t want to cross. He used to have A LOT of money, until he lost it all on gambling. Thankfully, despite that, his “wife” (minus the marriage) has stayed with him.

Nonetheless… despite everything, he said to my friend, “You know… the Torah way of life… when lived properly, is the most logical way of life”, he then proceeded to quote different verses from Koheles, Tehillim, and Mishlei to back him up.

Just comes to show you that you’re never too far off to be able to realize the truth.

Okay, on to Torah!

“And our oppression” (Devarim 26:7)

The Tchebiner Rav once told the owner of a matzah bakery that he was planning on visiting the next day to check the kashrus and see how the matzos were being made.

The owner of the bakery wanted to make a good impression on the Tchebiner Rav and told his workers that the next day, they needed to work extra hard.

After the visit, the Tchebiner Rav said that the kashrus was acceptable; however, he will be buying his matzah from another bakery. Then the owner asked the Rav why he will not be buying from him, the Rav responded, “Matzos made by oppressing workers are not good matzos”. He explained that the flawed mitzvos “bein adam l’chaverio” (mitzvos between people) in the bakery caused the matzos to be spiritually defective.Managers, parents, and anybody holding a “command level” position, need to understand this important fact. Oppressing workers and subordinates might give you short term “benefits”, but in the long term, you will be acquiring a great spiritual debt.

We have a park right next to the shul. In said park, there are different pieces of exercise equipment for the public to use.

There are a lot of Russians that live near the park.Old Russians.Old Fat Russians.Old Fat Russians Without ShirtsOld Fat Russians Without Shirts Exercising

Yeah… I don’t think I need Yom Kippur this year. I think that was punishment enough for the years sins.

Okay, on to Torah!"Because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness" (Devarim 28:47)

Rav Dov Cohen related a story which he witnessed in Chevron Yeshiva, before the massacres in the 1920s.

Once R'Zevulun Graz walked past the Alter of Slabodka, and the Alter told him, "You are a thief!” leaving him without explanation.

Later, the Alter explained, that when Rav Graz was in the midst of a difficult Gemara, he did not smile at anybody. "I saw that several of your friends passed by you," said the Alter, "but you did not smile at them. And because a person's face is public property, he is obligated to show a pleasant mien to the public. If he does not do so, he is called a thief."

The Alter continued to explain that when people encounter somebody who is somber, they turn that way as well, and it is considered as if he had taken away the light in their eyes.

I think I'm able to testify about this a bit, considering the move three weeks ago.

Thankfully, we're in a small city, which keeps a 'laid back' approach on life compared to the bigger cities. It's quieter, calmer, and generally more conducive to interpersonal peace. Due to these factors, I've found the general population, both religious and not, to be more open and friendly. This, in turn, has an effect on other citizens, which in turn has an effect on others.

When you put on a smile, chances are, others will put on a smile for you... Unless you're from New York.

One of the joys of raising children in a bilingual way, is watching them falter and stumble with both languages.

While English is the language of the house, more and more Hebrew words are being incorporated into the Official Winner Lexicon.

In reference to any place outside of Israel, we use the term “Chutz L’Aretz”, literally, “Outside of the Land”. Rochel Leah though has come to accidently call it “Chutzpa Aretz”.

Good. :)"And He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey" (Devarim 26:9)

Rashi explains that "this place" is in reference to the Beis HaMikdash.

The question that comes up is why is it in such an order. We were first given Eretz Yisroel, and only later did we gain Yerushaliyim and the Beis HaMikdash?

Rav Naftoli Tzvi Berlin explained that the Beis HaMikdash was a spiritual benefit while Eretz Yisroel is a physical benefit. Therefore, when we express our gratitude to Hashem, we put our spiritual gratitude before our physical.

How many times do we thank Hashem for the physical benefits that He has given us, and how many times a day do we thank him for our spiritual? We generally remember to thank Him for our family, health, job, house, food, etc... but do we remember to thank Him for the opportunities to learn, for Shabbos, for Yom Tov, for the ability to do tshuva?

Probably not. It's not our nature. However, since the spiritual life IS our priority after all, wouldn't it make sense to thank Him for all the spiritual opportunities that He has given us?

Too … busy… to … write… good introduction… will explain… next week…"Because you did not serve the Almighty, your G-d, with joy and with a good heart when you had everything" (Devarim 28:47)

This week's parsha goes through a nice long list of really bad things that will happen to the nation when we leave the path of Torah. One of the "qualifications" to receive such a curse is not serving Hashem with joy.

Rav Simcha Zissel of Kelm asked, "Isn't this an extremely severe penalty for not reaching a high level?" After all, you cannot order somebody to have simcha in life; it is an emotion that cannot be turned on and off.

He answers that when a person does something without simcha in life, it will not last long. However, if somebody DOES do something with simcha, then it will continue to grow.

You see this very clearly. You'll find that a lot of homes that fall under the category of "religious" that do not have simcha in their homes, will produce children whose service to Hashem is rote at best, or none at all. Those that have only simcha in their homes, produce children with simcha in THEIR homes.

While it's true, we cannot turn on the emotion of "joy" on command, we can help bring “warm it up”. One way is to simply look over all the brachos that you have in life. With that, you begin to realize how much good you have, whether it be a spouse, children, job, good learning, a home over your head, food, clothing... I try to make it a point to review such a list on my way home from shul Shabbos night. By the time I walk through the doors, my level of joy was much more than it was a mere five minutes earlier.

May we all merit to see and to feel true joy in serving Hashem. With that... have a great Shabbos!

My daughter delivered the results this week: I beat Bunny! I have the honour of marrying her....“Your life shall hang in doubt before you, and you shall fear day and night, and you will have no assurance of your life” (Devarim 28:66)

The Gemara (Menachos 103b) explains that this verse is referring to the pain that a person brings upon himself through worrying about the future.

“Your life shall hand in doubt before you”, refers to a person who does not own any land and buys grain every year that lasts him exactly one year. Even after he buys that grain, he begins to worry about next year’s grain.

“You shall fear night and day”, refers to someone who buys grain once a week. Obviously he worries a lot more than the person who buys once a year, for he worries every night and every day where he will get his food for the next week.“You will have no assurance of your life”, refers to a person who has to buy and worry for his needs every single day, not knowing if he’ll have food the next day.Rav Chaiyim Shmuelevitz would often cite this Gemara and point out that a person creates his own mental torture by worrying about the future.

Rav Zelig Pliskin sums it up: “If you have enough food for today and you appreciate what you have, you are a fortunate person and will live a happy life. But if you keep worrying about the future, you will never have peace of mind. Even if you have enough to eat for the entire year, you can easily destroy the quality of your life by keeping your mind focused on all that can go wrong next year. Regardless of what will be next year, you are causing yourself suffering right now.”

With today’s economic situation being in such flux, it’s extremely important to keep these things in mind. Thank G-d, you have shelter, food, and even more. By appreciating what you have now and not worrying about the future, you will be able to enjoy it now and also in the future.

The Chofetz Chaim used to say, “Everyone has something to worry about. It is preferable for a person to worry about spiritual matters and then he will be free from worrying about material matters”.

If you have to worry about something, worry about your spiritual life. That’s an appropriate way to channel those energies. Worrying about your material situation isn’t going to help you one iota and it will only lead you to not enjoy what you already have. So… why worry?

One of the greatest pleasures of living in Eretz Yisroel is the ability to keep certain mitzvos that cannot be performed outside the land. Starting Rosh Hashanah begins the end of the seven-year cycle, known as “Shmittah”. During the entire year, the farmer must not work his field and declare the produce “ownerless”.

Any produce that is grown during this time is considered holy and must be treated with respect as you would a siddur. This means, if you have Shmittah produce, it cannot be thrown away in the garbage if you don’t want to use it. Rather, you must place it in a special bin designated for Shmittah produce, wait for it to decompose to a certain point where it loses its holiness, and THEN you can throw it away. That also means you cannot throw it on the floor, just like you would not throw a siddur on the floor.

Ultimately, it leads to free grapes for my family and I, since the person who lives in the next building who has grapes growing in his yard, will not own the grapes next year at this time. So, I will be able to pick off some grapes on my way home from shul every morning, and it’s not considered stealing!

Before we begin, I’m putting a non-paid advertisement for those working on improving their children’s basic Hebrew. A friend of mine, Rabbi Eliezer Kessler, has created a set of flashcards that help teach children the ‘root’ words that are commonly found in the Torah. The price is $12 for a set of 100 cards. I would personally buy it for my daughter for when she gets older, but something tells me that I won’t have to worry about her Hebrew skills. For more information, please visit:

And if you do make a purchase, don’t tell him that I sent you… he might charge you more.

This week’s dvar torah has been sponsored by, and I quote: A Yid who is trying hard to serve the boss asks Ha-Shem's help in developing Emunah, Self-Confidence, and the ability to love his fellow man.

Finally, on to Torah!“And it shall be, when you come in to the land which Hashem your G-d gives you for an inheritance… you shall take the first of all the fruit of the earth… and shall go to the place which Hashem your G-d shall choose… and say to him [the Cohein]: I declare this day to Hashem you G-d, that I have come to the country which Hashem swore to our fathers to give us’” (Devarim 26:1-3)

Rav Mordechai Rogov makes an interesting observation. Here we have a farmer who’s been living in Israel for quite some time. He is now coming to Jerusalem to bring the first fruits of his harvest and declares “I have come to the country”, as if he just arrived. Why does he announce that he just arrived, when he and his family could have been living in Eretz Yisroel for generations?

Rav Rogov explains that material wealth and possessions in a Jew’s life have no meaning unless they contribute to his spiritual life. Once a person uses his material for their proper usage, then he feels that they are meaningful. A farmer could have declared his happiness from his own field when it’s in full bloom. Why did he have to come to Jerusalem to do so? Because, his material wealth is just that: material. However, when he came to bring korbonos (sacrifices) of the first fruits, he used that material wealth for spiritual purposes which in turn brought him true happiness; as if he “just came” to this happiness.

When in Chicago, I had the honour of having a connection with a certain person with a nice amount of money. I had to deal with several rich folks before, but none impressed me as much as he did. If you looked at him, you saw a person who you would think to be a very intelligent person of normal standing. If you walked into his house, you noticed that he had some nicer things than most. If you saw his house of Shabbos, you saw why he was special and deserved to raise the children he had.

This individual and his family had all sorts of guests over for Shabbos. When I mean “all sorts”, I mean people who were lonely without any friends, people who were not “fully there”, older people with no family, etc, and me (no comments, thank you). One person in particular was always picked up by this man’s daughter, since he was wheelchair bound and could not make it to their home by himself. In the end, this person raised unbelievable children who became true bnei torah. How did he earn this?

He had money, you could see that, but he never flaunted it. He never drives a hummer down the narrow streets of West Rogers Park, he never makes the photos of him accepting awards from this organization or that for giving lots of money, and he never had an ego of wealth emanating from him. He was a person whom Hashem chose to give a good amount of money to, and he used it for spiritual purposes, without any fanfare for himself.

May we all use whatever material possessions Hashem has given us for truly good purposes. Have a great Shabbos!

A Rosh Yeshiva of mine, Rabbi Granofsky, traveled to the United States several years ago.

As he was walking through the airport in New York, a big, black man approached him and said, “Rabbi… can you bless me?”

So, without blinking an eye, Rabbi Granofsky placed his hand on this man’s forehead and declared, “Brother! Be blessed!”

A big smile appeared on the man’s face as he said, “Thank you Rabbi!”

With that, I bring you this week’s dvar torah:

In this week's parsha, the Jewish nation proclaims a list of brachos and curses for those who fulfill the Torah and for who go against it.

Rav Avigdor Miller asks why this is necessary. Why does the half the nation have to say over each bracha while the other half answer ‘amen’? Would it not make more sense that Moshe himself say these blessings? Why was it so important for the entire nation to participate?

Rav Miller bases his answer on a Gemara in Sota (28b) that states that it is a mitzvah to bless a fellow Jew. The more one adds to that bracha, the more he himself will be blessed.

When you see a person who is working on himself, you bless him. And if you don't know him so well... you still bless him. When you pass a house with a mezuzah on it, you bless the family inside.

The cost is nothing. The reward for the "blesser" and "blessee" in infinite.

The reason that it was important for the entire nation to participate was to show the power to bless or curse is great. The power of the mouth, especially from one steeped in Torah is unimaginable.

When a person who is close to Hashem blesses another, Hashem will listen and follow through with that bracha.

Rav Miller continues: When a Jew blesses another, "I wish that he should live long", Hashem writes that down in that "blessee's" book. When a person passes away, if those who accompany his coffin speak among themselves saying, "He was such a good person", they are using those words in Heaven to judge that person.

"The more a person has a good name and more and more people are blessing him, then this will have an effect; there will be a difference in this person's life."

This week’s parsha makes it very clear the power of blessing. Blessings are not just to be given by the "Moshes" of each generation; they are to be given by everybody.

So next time you see a fellow Jew on the street, give him a bracha. It costs nothing and can make a real difference in their life.

Not long ago, I received my second "Aid Package" from the United States: a two weeks supply of fresh baked cookies from one of the greatest cookie-makers known to mankind: Sarah Kramer (daughter of my neighbors in Chicago). Unfortunately, it somehow 'disappeared' pretty quickly... funny how that coincided with a slew of stomach aches....mmmm...something to look into.

My first aid package came in the form of goodies from Rebbetzin Seif. I would usually give credit to Rabbi Seif as well, but something tells me this was the job of his wife :). It's interesting to note that my parents have YET to send me anything of interest. Wait, I'm sorry. They DID send me a check for my birthday...wow...a whole check... big deal...it's not like it was a batch of cookies or anything....

After consulting the website I realized that we have 301 email subscribers. If I charged 1 cookie per person, per month, I can easily rake in 3612 cookies per year (that's 7.156 cookies per day). If my cookie intake does not improve within the next few months, expect me to start charging. Ironically, this week's dvar torah only comes to support my complaining. Therefore, on to Torah!

"These shall stand to bless the people on Har Gerizim... And these shall stand for the curse on Har Eival..." (27:12, 13)

Before entering Eretz Yisroel, the Jews were to gather on two mountains, Har (Mount) Gerizim and Har Eival. Six tribes would stand on Har Gerizim, six would stand on har Eival, and the Leviim would stand in the middle. The Leviim would call out a list of blessings that the Jewish people would receive if they follow the Torah, and the six tribes on Har Gerizim would answer 'amen'. Then the Leviim would call out a list of curses if the Jewish people failed to live up to the Torah, and the six tribes on Har Eival would answer 'amen'.

Two interesting points need to be made about this. First of all, the tribe of Zevulun was one of the tribes assigned to Har Eival. What exactly was Zevulun's 'weakness' that assigned them to the "Mountain of Curses"? Zevulun had a special relationship with the tribe of Yissachar. While Yissachar would learn Torah full-time, Zevulun would support them and their family. Sounds good, doesn't it? So, why would Zevulun be answering 'amen' to curses, when they are supporting Torah?

A second point is concerning the physical attributes of the two mountains. Har Gerizim (blessings) was a barren mountain with hardly any vegetation. Har Eival (curses) on the other hand was full of lush grass and trees. Wouldn't it make more sense that the physical attributes be reversed?

In comes Rav Boruch Sorotzkin zt'l, to teach us the lesson of Har Gerizim and Har Eival. In reality, the placement of Zevulun and the physical attributes of the mountains is a warning.

Many people who come and visit the frum neighborhoods in Jerusalem are amazed at how people live their lives. Whole families can live in two or three bedroom apartments (each family consisting of 2-10 people on average). In many neighborhoods, there are no front or back lawns, little or no air conditioning, most people do not own cars, and many are living on very meager income and cookies. Why? Because they understand that they are on this planet to live a Torah lifestyle. Many were not raised in the 'lush fields' of America, so, unlike us; they have learned to live a very basic lifestyle. These are people whose sole occupation is Torah.

To the outsider's eyes, these people are doing nothing useful with their time. According to the Meretz and Shinui Parties here in Israel (a.k.a. Destroy anything that might have a tinge of Judaism in the Land of Israel Party), these Jews (who may I add were living here WAY before they were) are mere parasites that live off of others. The fact is, from a non-frum point of view, it is easy to see and believe such things. The Torah point of view, on the other hand, is completely different. In order to survive, the nation NEEDS people to learn full-time. The nation NEEDS people who are knowledgeable in Torah, in order to teach and lead us. Without these 'parasites', there will simply be no more Torah.

The Torah sends out a warning to those who are working and living a little more on the well off lifestyle. It is sending out a warning to all those possible Zevulun's out there, who are living on their lush mountain: "Cursed be the one who will not uphold the words of the Torah" (Dvarim 27:26) Do not think that since you are living a comfortable lifestyle, that this is a permanent setting.

It is a mitzvah that is incumbent on every Jew, whether working or learning full-time, to support Torah learning in some way. You have been blessed with material success and like all other blessings in life; you are commanded to use it in a proper way. We all have opportunities to support those who are learning full-time for the Jewish people, in some way or another. By realizing the priorities that the Torah places before us, we can use the blessings He has given us for holy purposes instead of mundane ones. Through that action we will not only share our blessings with others, but will 'encourage' Hashem to continue to bring us even more blessings. On that note, have a great Shabbos!

About the Author

Michael Winner

Avreich - Web Developer - Father - Tired

Michael Winner is a full-time member of a kollel in northern Israel, works at night as a web-developer, is a father of five, and can often be found on the floor where he must have passed out.